WHEELING, W.Va.—

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger plans to start studying how he will make the best use of his patrol officers now that Wheeling residents voted to overturn a 1972 ordinance that required two officers to be in each on-duty patrol car at all times.

"As far as I know, the ordinance is passed, and this can begin effective today in my opinion. But, I need to look at this very closely. I would say within 30-60 days we'll be studying to see where we can put one officer per car versus two," said Schwertfeger.

The ordinance was repealed Tuesday night 63 to 33 percent.

"The biggest advantage of all this is the more visibility of the department, soon more people will see more police cars patrolling the city streets," said Schwertfeger.

The chief said that in no way will be put his officers and the public in danger with having one officer in a car at all times.

"You just can’t do it like that. In the high-crime areas, and especially at night, studies show that between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. there are more chances of a law enforcement officer coming into a violent encounter," said Schwertfeger.

The city still faces legal action from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 38. NEWS9 did not hear back from the FOP or the city's attorney on the matter.

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